Join Researchers On Environmental Disaster Teams With Help Of Grant Money

A fishnet is more than a style of hosiery. It\’s also the name of a marine life database upon which researchers exploring the effects of the BP Horizon oil spill rely. Thanks to a grant provided to a university in New Orleans, Louisiana, Fishnet2, as it\’s known, is also undergoing an expansion.

The database, which is overseen by the institution\’s Museum of Natural History, includes years of scientific information that\’s been collected about fish and other forms of marine life inhabiting the Gulf of Mexico, the announcement noted. Researchers primarily use Fishnet2 to find the names of fish, and, with the help of a near-$200,000 grant, it\’s about to also provide scientists information about the water itself.

The grant money provided to help the Louisiana institution expand its Fishnet2 service came from the National Science Foundation. The institution plans to put the money toward adding information to the database such as water depths and surface geography, the announcement noted. Hank Bart, an ecology and evolutionary biology professor, works as the university Museum of Natural History director and curator of fishes. He was quoted in the announcement as saying that the database changes would allow oil spill researchers to ask questions where they might better determine through Fishnet2 the oil spill\’s potential effects. Grant money is also set aside for students that want to earn science degrees, learn more by searching for grants for college on the internet.

The National Science Foundation has also distributed \”rapid response\” grant money for oil spill studies. Samantha Joye and Patricia Medeiros, marine sciences researchers at a Georgia university, are among the rapid response grant recipients. The studies they plan involve carbon in the water, according to an announcement from the Georgia institution.

Reports have suggested that billions of gallons of petroleum oil might have spilled into the Gulf of Mexico as a result of that April oil rig explosion that also claimed the lives of 11 workers. By June, BP had announced plans to distribute grant money of about $500 million so that universities could conduct independent research, a BP announcement shows. Recipients of the BP grant included a consortium of 20 colleges and universities in Florida. If you would enjoy performing research like this and want to earn your degree, get on the internet and look up grant for online college to see all of the options you have.

In Florida in July, a university in Florida revealed the results of a survey suggesting that the oil spill could have negative impacts on an already suffering real estate industry. The university\’s Center for Real Estate Studies Director Timothy Becker was quoted in a news release as saying that the spill had created a \”giant cloud of uncertainty\” that effected different markets throughout the state. South Florida\’s real estate market was most vital at the time and the number of foreclosed residences, while down statewide, still ranked third in the country, behind Arizona and Nevada, according to Becker.

Some Florida institutions are exploring the oil spill\’s impacts on marshes from the northwest coast to South Florida, an August article in the Gainesville Sun noted. The same has been happening off the coast of Louisiana. There, debates about coastal restoration have been reignited, according to what a New Orleans Times-Picayune article in October suggested. The state\’s oyster beds suffered losses with coastal restoration and have since been effected by fresh water that was diverted to keep oil away, the Times-Picayune article and a November Associated Press article in Bloomberg Businessweek noted.

While the BP oil spill may have been costly, the research that\’s being carried out with the grants suggests the event had more adverse impacts. When it comes to the health of the people who drink the water and eat the fish, the effects extend far beyond finances. For help finding an online school to attend, contact Education Connection.

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